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Golf

Hidden hazard

A golfer walks off the 17th hole tee box where grandstands are under construction for the upcoming Canadian Pacific Women’s Open at the London Hunt and Country Club on Friday. (CRAIG GLOVER, The London Free Press)

While there is bound to be plenty of drama at the CP Canadian Women’s Open this month, the 17th hole at the Hunt Club figures to play big in determining who wins. Ryan Pyette launches our coverage of the tourney with a look at No. 17.

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A golf course is big.

During tournament time, there is a lot happening in different places all at once.

As a fan, it’s easy — unless you’re staring at a TV screen — to miss that magical moment when everything gets turned on its head and a winner is decided.

Take this advice for what it’s worth with the $2.25 million CP Canadian Women’s Open LPGA tour stop rolling into London in three weeks.

Don’t stray too far from hole No. 17 at the Hunt Club.

Bank on there being some drama on that pesky par-3.

“It’s one of our tougher holes,” London Hunt and Country Club head pro Tim McKeiver said. “If you asked any quality of player — it doesn’t matter — would you take three here and run, they would say yes. They make more fives than they do threes, that’s for sure.”

Eight years ago in the tourney’s last incarnation, this is where it slipped away from leader Angela Stanford. She still had a one-stroke lead on Cristie Kerr before a bogey on this second-last hole.

Golf Canada, London, the Hunt and Canadian Pacific roll out the welcome mat for players.

But at 17, things can get a little uncomfortable, especially with a win and big money on the line.

“I probably rushed there and I probably didn’t hit the club I wanted to, and then I put a bad swing on top of that, right into the bunker,” Stanford said back then, reflecting on when it all went sour. “I hit a good bunker shot to six, seven feet and I don’t know why that putt didn’t break into the hole.

“Really, all day long I felt I had control. It felt like I was in a good spot all day long.”

But 17 is a bit of an illusion.

It’s a long one — 239 yards from the championship tee, though the ladies will play it from about 175. It’s downhill into a prevailing wind with the standard defence of the Hunt course — mammoth bunkers on the left and right that make accuracy paramount to a tricky ‘T’ shaped green.

“It’s the biggest green on the golf course, which most people wouldn’t know,” McKeiver said. “There are two bunkers and they are deep and big (making the green look smaller).”

“It’s one of those par-3s that could well decide the tournament. Someone could hit it in a bunker and make four easily and somebody else could make two,” McKeiver said “You could easily see a two-shot swing.”

Kerr, who roared back from eight down in the final round in ’06 with a run of birdies, escaped 17 with a well-earned — and critical — par.

“The par save at 17, those are as good as birdies,” she said after that win. “I was able to save par there and momentum in winning golf tournaments is huge. If you can keep the momentum in your favour, you’re going to win.”

This hole hasn’t been changed since the LPGA was last here.

The tour, though, runs with a totally different engine. That ’06 tourney was more the last stand of the old guard, while this is the Michelle Wie-infused era of young phenoms who aren’t scared of anything.

They would still do well to take a deep breath before playing 17. Stanford found herself caught between hitting a hold six (iron) instead of a full five-iron to the middle of the green.

There was some indecision — and that’s tough for a golfer to overcome.

“I think just knowing the exact shot (on 17) I want to hit at that moment, I think that comes with maturity,” Stanford said. “You talk to Tiger (Woods), Annika (former ladies star Sorenstam), the greats, they know at that moment what shot they’re going to hit.”

That’s going to be great theatre, checking to see how stars like Lydia Ko and Lexi Thompson and the up-and-comers like Brooke Henderson and Charley Hull — approach this pivotal part of the course.

The grandstands are in the process of being put up. There will be some hospitality tents in the area.

“It’ll be a focal point the last few days,” McKeiver said. “I normally play (17) from 200-210 (yards), so it’s a hybrid for me or long iron. I try to hit it right in the middle of the green and two-putt.

“If you make three, you win most of your bets.”

In three weeks, the late-round gambling — and self-doubt — begins at No. 17.